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Altfned June 14, 1898,.

" NWN P. L. MERRITT. INTERNAL coMBNsToN ENGINE.

(No Model) INH Ulu?- 0i Ina/enter;

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A Y 3`Sheets-Sheet 2. 4 P. L. MBRRITT. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

No. 605,583. 'Pa @med June 14, 1898.y I

Norms Pzrsns co., Puovauma. wAsHmaTon u c (No Model.)

3 .Sheets-Sheet 3.

F. L. MERRITT. y INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

Patented June-'14, `1898.

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*UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

RANCIS LANE MERRITT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR F THREE- ElGl-ITHS TO HENRY ARTHUR NAlSMlTl-l, GF CROYDON, ENGLAND.

lNTEiRNAL-GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 605,583, dated June 14, 1898. Application ile'd llnrch 12, 1897'. Serial Ne. 627,208. (No model-l Patented in England July 6, 1896, No. 14,959.

To au whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANCIS LANE MERRITT, a subjeet of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great .Britain and Ireland, residing at No. 96 Loftus road, Shepherds Bush, London,

England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inv Internal- Combustion Engines, (for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain and Ireland,N o. 14,959, dated July 6, 1896 g) and I do hereby declare that the followingfis a full, clear, and exact description of. the invention, reference being made to the accompan yin gdrawin gs,wl1icl1 are to be taken as part of this specification and read theref v 5 with, and one which lwill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the. same.

The present invention relates to improvements in internal-combustionengines. Itis zo applicable more particularly and with the best results to multicylinder engines. According to it an engine,\\hether single or doudle`acting,works on an improved two-stroke cycle, the exhaust-gases are flushed out of the :5 cylinder by improved means, the cylinder is cooled by improved means, andboth the valve mechanism and the connection between the governor and it are improved in respect of both simplicity and invention. A

3o Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is aside elevation of a three-cylinder engine made according to the presentin- Vention. Fig. 2 is an end elevaticn corresponding therewith. elevation taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional end elevation taken along lthe line t 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail in transverse section of thc cam mechanism by which the supply-valves are actuated. Fig.

o (i isafrontclevatiqn corresponding therewith.

hFig. 7 is aside elevation of the device by which the cam is held to'the engine-shaft. Fig. 8 is a sectional 4side elevation taken along the line 8 8 of Fig. 4, but showing the air corn- 45 pressed in a dilerent position. Fig. 9 is a detail of the contacts and contact-ring of the igniting mechanism. Fig. 10 is an elevation of the opposite side of the contact-ring. Fig.

11 is a plan of the said ring.

I have chosenfor illustration a. single-act- Fi g. 3 is a sectional side ing three-cylinderen gine havin g its cylinders standing with their axes set at' equal angles about and radial to a common center situate in the axis of the engine crank-shaft, for the reason that the absence of vibration in the engine as a Whole, due to the fact that the impulses are delivered to the crank-pins in regu lar order, specially ladapts such a type of engine for use where vibration is inadmissible, as'in the engine of a horscless carriage or mo 6o tor-car. At the same time it must be explained that my invention does. not relate to the type of engine nor to the number of cylinders, for the reason that it is applicable to l either single or multiple cylinders having linearly-reciprocating and single or double l acting pistons.

To prevent confusion of ideas, the terl ""stroke? is to be understood as meaning one travelof the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other. The engine works on a two-stroke cycle. During one stroke the exhaust-gases are' flushed out of the cylinder,- the exhaust-portis closed, the charge of air and combustible fed, into the cylinder= and the compression of it effected. During the following stroke the charge is ignited, work done on the piston, and the exhaust-pbrt opened.

A A A are the engine-cylinders, and A A' 8o A' the pistons.

b is a central ring, to which the cylindersv are made fast by' their inner ends, the latter being received in sockets a' a a', which project radially outwardly from the said'ring. 85

d d are two plates respectively held up to and over the edges of the ring b and forming with it a casing which incloscs a portion of the crank-shaft, the crank, and the pitmen. This casing is hereinafter referred to as the 9o cranlbchambe r.

e is one-.arm of the crank-shaft. It has itsv bearings in a boss b,`which projects centrally from the plate d inte the crankchamber. 1t is continued beyond that bearing outward far enough to carry the cam mechanism and inwz'u'd far enough forthc adjacent crank-cheek c to be made fast to it. e2 is the other arm of the crank. It has its bearing in a boss b2, which projects centrally Afrom the plate d' lo:

scribed farther on.

into the crank-chamber. It is continued beyond that bearing into the crank-chamber far enough for the adjacent crank-cheek c to be made fast to it. Both checks c c' are circular, of the same diameter as the interior of the crankchamber,and are revolved upon the respective bosses b b2.

its c3 o3 are the pitmcn.

u? is 'the single' crank-pin, to which all the. pitmen are connected. It turns in bearings in the cheeks c c. The ends.of the pitmen are held to itl by being shaped to the same radius, by having a width rather less than a third of a, circle, andby having their ends entered into bearings in the cheeks c c', such bearings being of course concentric with those of the crank-pin a.

F is a ring of about the same diameter as the ring b. It fits over the plate d and up to the said. ring. f is a tlfird circular plate. It is held over and up to the edge of the ring F. This latter, together with the plates d' audf,. forms the chamber of the air-compressor, de-

The rings b and F and the plates d, d', and f are shown as held to -cach other in the respective positions described by screw-threadcd and nutted tiebolts d. The crank-shaft'arm' is continued Athrough the air compressor chamber, the outer end of such continuation e3 turning in a bearing e4, formed in the circular plate f.

The function of the air-compressor is to supply the engine with air for combustion, as well as with air-currents for cooling the cyllinders and iiushing'the exhaust-gasesout of them, both such supply'and currents being under pressure. It consists of a radial arm f', air supply portsfzfa, and bladesf .The radial arm f' is fast upon the continuation c, above mentioned, that being the com-` pressor-shaft. The said arm extends outward and laterally as-far as the internal face of the compressor-chamber, up to which it fits' air-tight on all three sides of it. The outer end of this arm, being the one always in conf tact with the periphery of the said chamber, is preferably convex. The sides and. opposite end oi it must be convex to provide for the ytips of the blades frdingover them' smoothly-12. e., without jumping away from them.

The air-port fz 'is open to the outer air through the outer end of the shaft e and ex tends throughout the length of the latter, making it tubular or hollow.

fs fa are a series of parallel ducts starting from the air-port f2, extending through the arm f', and opening out through one side or through one end of it, their mouths'beingso positioned as to open into only one of the sub chambers at a time. These subchambers are describedrv farther on. Each series of ducts f 3 is functionally a continuation of the port f2. As the compressor-shaft es is constantlyrevolving, the action of the comprcssoritself is constant.

The blades f 4 are counterparts of each other:

VThere are as many of them as there are cylinders in the engine, making that number'of subchambers.- Each is pivoted by its base either to the sides or to the periphery of the compressor-casing, `the axis of such pivot being parallel with the axis of the compressor itself. There i's formed in the drum f a recess f5 of a proper size to receive each blade as the outer end or tip of the arm f' travels past, the adjacent face of a blade being of the proper contour` to complete the internal surface of the drum F over each recess f. Fig. 8 indicates the pivot of a blade as consisting of a gudgeon f, projecting from each corner into a bearing in the side of the compressor-chamber out of the path of the tip of the arm ff.

flfs f8 are channels in the ring F, one to each subchamber and open, respectively,.to the recesses f5. They are continued through the ring b as closed ports f and not open to the crank-shaft chamber. The tips of thc blades f4 are kept in contactwith. the surface of 'the arm f by any suitable springdevice. By preference I useia resilient spring contained in sliding thimblcs to act onthel back of blades j", maintaining constant contact with arm j". rlhis device is illustrated in Eig. 8.

p is a spiral spring resilient between the opposite ends of two cups p' p2. 'The cup p' is held by its edge to the ring F, the closed end or bottom of the cupprojecting radially therefrom. The cup 1J issmall enough to slide radially within the the cup p', the spring p being strong enough to keep the closed end of the cup p2 constantly in touch with the respective blade f, while the cup p' islong enough .to receive the entire length of the cup p.

The tips of the blades j" being kept in con tact with the surface of the arm f' and the motion of the latter being constant in the direction indicated by the arrow--1C-` e., from tip to' pivot of a blade-the airin a subchamber is expelled therefrom by the circular motion of the arm f folding the respective blade into its recess and forced through the channels fs and the continuations f thereof in thel ring b onits Wayto the chamber g4, described farther on. A

Each cylinder, withits valvelgear, is a replica of each of. the others. A description of one is for that reason a description of all.

g is an annular chainberwhich jackets the cylinder A. One end of the shell g' of it ts over a shoulder on the ringv b and is heldin position concentric with the cylinder by the cover Il of the 'outer end' of the latter and studs h.

g2 is one of a series of ports from each'port f to the chamber g, and gs g' a series of ports in the cylindercover H from the said chamber g' into one g, situated within thesaid IOO IIO

Igo

cover H. It is the combination of the chamternal right angles therewith; It is behind this internal angle that the ports g2 stand, and

.consequently do not make any break in the plerphery of either chamber or in that of the s e .f

I is the main pipe, through which thecombustible is supplied under suitable pressure, and 'i the branch from 'it to each cylinder. A branch 'i enters an axial prolongation h of the, end cover` H and delivers the combustible into a small cylinder h' through the side of it and near the bottom of it.

'h2 is a piston-valvetting the cylinder h'. The outer end of this valve 'is expanded laterally, and a resilient spring hs is inserted between such expansion and an external collar on the prolongation h, the function of it being to keep the valvel h2 away from the bottom of tho small cylinder h, thereby opening the port from the branch f and keeping it open.

J is the engine-supply valve. Its function is to control the supply 'df combustible and air for combustion to the cylinder A. j is its seating inthe inner face of the end cover H. j is the spindle of it. It works through the continuation h and the piston-valve h2, through both of which it is continued outwardl y to terminate in a head y,which stands normally a short distance olf the outer end of the piston-valve h2 and always in contact with the valve-actuating gear.

7" is a resilientspiral springround the spindle j and acting between the valve h2 andthe head je.

jis atubular port in the spindle j' and having lateral branches js, adapted to communicate with the bottom of the cylinderh', and

other lateral branches j?, adapted to communicate with the cngine-cylinderA when the port from the branche is covered by the' pistonvalve h2.

K is the engine-governor, and la the cam of the supply-valve-actuating gear. This cam is held and actuated on the shaftarm e by the following means: l

lo' is a collar having a feather k2 along one side of it. It is held to the shaft-arm e by a set-screw k3. Over this`collar thereL fits a wedge-block.- Its operative surfaces are, for the purposes of the present invention, a pair of wedges lc k". face of the wedge-block, opposite each other, at the same angle with the axis of the a'rm e and parallel with each other. `The wedges k These are on the outer s ur--` `k5 are held on the arm e by the engagement of the feather lo in a corresponding slot lin the inner surface of the wedge-block.

lo is a sleeve free to move alongthe arm e outward under the centrifugal action of the governor and inward under the extension of the spring k7.

ka las are a pair of rods holding block to the sleeve k6'.

kg is the cam-block. It Iits over and up to the periphery of the wedge-block, so that each longitudinal motion of the latter becomesV a transverse one in thecam.

k1 is the cam-tooth. Y The exact position of this on the periphery of its block k may be varied as maybe desired. Both are preventthe wedge- -ed from moving longitudinally along the arm e by a cup k, fast to the said arm on each side of them.

l is' the valve-rod working through the guide Z' on the plate d. 'Its inner end carries an antifriction roller Z2 always in contact with the periphery of the cam-block k. It reaches the valve J through a bell-cranklever la, one end of which and the adjacent end of the valve-rod are pivotally connected, while the opposite end of the said bell-crank lever is in constant contact with the head j of thevalvespindle j'.

`The mechanism for igniting the charge of mixed combustible a`nd air in the Acylinder is electrical. A ring having half the width of its periphery a conductor m and the other half anon-conductorm', excepting a single tooth 'm2 of conducting material, is fixed upon the crank-shaft outside the chamber of the latter. rings stand side by side. An incandescent igniter is fixed inside each cylinder. This is not shown in the drawings. Any one of those known may be used.

'ma is the positive conductor from the battery to a contact-finger m, which always bears upon the half-periphery m.

m5 'mis m5 are the contact-lingers always in contact with the other half-periphery m m2.

m is the conductor from each finger m5 to the positive binding-screw 'm't of the'internal incandescent igniter, and m the negativo binding-screw thereof, from which the negative conductor m9 is led aw'ay to the battery. The tooth m2 therefore closes the three igniting-circnits indue order once during each rotation of the crank-shaft.

n is the exhaust-port. It is opened; to the' ignited andexpanded charge of airand combustible at a suitable point in the working stroke of the piston A'.

tf1/is the exhaust-pipe.

e operation of the engine will be unders od from a description of what goes on in and in connection with one cylinder.

When the piston A'is at the end of its inward or working stroke-1;. e., in the position illustrated' in Fig. 1 -the exhaust-port nis. full open. The piston then begins its return stroke. At the moment when ithas covered It is carefully insulated. The twohalf the port 'n the cam-tooth km comes up to the antifriction-roller Z? and pushes the valve J a little'way ol its seat. The air-compressor then drives a cooling and flushing charge oi air through the ports g2, the jacket g, the

rts g3, and th chamber g4, past'the valve J, through the cylinder A, and out through the port n, cooling the cylinder A as it passes through the jacket g and flushing it of the exhaust-gases, which latteritdrivcs out through the exhaust-port n. lAll this cooling and flushing is accomplished while the port n remains open. By the time the piston A has quite covered the port n the same cam-tooth has opened the valve J a little farther, far enough, in fact, to push the branch ports .75 past the end'of the piston-valve h. begun the admission of combustible from the `small cylinder h'. It flows or is driven thence through the ports 3*, j, andjI into the cylinder A, where it. is mixed with air from the air-compressor as the combustible passes out of the valve J. The air is induced or driven forward for the chamber g into the cylinder A by the currents of air forced forward by the compressor from the compressor. The cam-tooth now makes the piston-valve h shut on? the small cylinder h' and the ports j from the valve h2 and branch z' by means of the continued inward motion of ,thespindle-head y and Valve h. As soon as the cam-tooth has passed the roller Z2 the spring h returns the piston-valve h, and the s ring hi closes the valve J. The' piston A' t en begins to compress the charge. As soon as it has started on its inward-te:, working-stroke the circuit is closed and the charge .fired At that lnoment the inward stroke becomes the working stroke, and this continues to almost the end of the inward strokeat any rate, till after the piston has partially opened the exhaust-port n.

The independent action of which the pistonvalve h2 and the valve J arel capable is an important feature of the present invention, for by means of it, when the governor-holes are wide open, the projection of the cam-'tooth will be so diminished that theiportsj 7'5 j" will not be opened to the combustible-supply i.

I claiml. The combination in an internal-combustion engine working on the two-stroke cycle specified ofworking cylinder, a combustiblesupply port, a piston-valve therein normally held fromclosing the said supplyport,a valvecontrolled supply-port to the Working cylinder, a single valve J normally holding the said supply-port closed, a port through the said valve adapted to establish communication between the combustible-supply cylinder and the Working cylinder when the single valve is ofi' its seat, an air-supply to the working c linden a cam-tooth making one revolution for each two-stroke cycles of the engine and adaptedby intermediate valve-gear to push the single su pply-valve off its seat a little to make the piston-valve close the combustible- At this 'point is' supply port, then to establish the above-mentioned communication between thecombustible-supply cylinder and the Working cylinder, to leave the supply-valve to be closed, and to leave the pistou-valve to open the combustible-supply port. 2. The combination of a centrifugal governor on a crank-shaft arm, a fixed sleeve thereon, two inclosing cups fixed thereto', a double inclined block inclosed inside the said cups and protected by saine to' stop the block at each end of its transverse motion, a double inclined wedge-block mounted on a fixed sleeve and giving it motion connected to governor through the said' cups by rods givingA longitudinal motion and a cam on the double inclined block, a double inclined block inclosed between two cups and to a fixed sleeve having its longitudinal motion from the governor and transmitting the same to the cam which is also held between the edges of the said two cups to prevent a longitudinal motion to the said cam, a cam-block carried by and rotating with the crank-shaft and held by the said cups that each longitudinal motion ofthe wedge-block becomes a transverse one in the cam, an antifriction-roller and valve-gear transmitting the motion of the cam to the sin-gie supply-valve of the en gineI as described.

3. The combination of a centrifugal governor, a cam-tooth of variable projection undr'the action of the same, a valve-gear actuated by the said tooth, a valve controlling the only supply-portto the working cylinder adapted tobe opened first by a given projecti'on of the said toothand a piston-valve controlling the combustible supply to an intermediate cylinder adapted to be opened only by a longer projection of the said tooth.

4. The combination of a compressor (consisting of radial arm, air-supply ports and blades) mounted on the engine -shaft and capable of being subdivided into as many subchambers as there are cylinders `to the engine, with as many ducts therefrom-as there are subdivisions, a radial arm mounted on the said shaft inside a surrounding shell of a compressor revolving concentric to the same, an air-duct concentric to-and in the axial line of the said. shaft from the outside air to a series of air-ducts diverging outward from the said shaft and through the radial arm delivering its air into the compressor on the reverse side of the said arms line of motion filling the vac uum caused bythe forward motion, as many blades as there are subdivisions, each blade const ructed to maintain a constant sliding contact with the radial arm,airtight and to deliver its air to its own working c-ylinder through its own air-duct up to a sup 'ply-port and valve in each working cylinder,

a casing suitably constructedA according to the number of subdivisions, with recesses to receive the blades so that the radial arm may ride smoothly over them,r and a return-spring to maintain air-tight contact between. the

ZIO

blades and thev radial arm, a radial arm conl structed of such a; form that the blade may rise very quickly and deliver its air, the return motion being regulated by the outline of the said arm to Vproducen smooth action, the function of the compressor being to supply tlie engine with air for combustion and air-currents for the various operations of the engine when working, both such supply and currents being under pressure.

5. The combination in an internal-combustion engine workingon the two-stroke cycle specified, of working cylinder, a. const-ant and independent air-compressor, single valve controlling the only supply-port to the said cylinder, a piston-valve-controlling the combustible-supply port to an intermediate chamber, a valve-gear actuated by a single-tooth cam and opening the only single supply-valve to the cylinder according to tliep ojection of tl 1e said cam, and an automatic gniting device.

In witness whereof I lave hereunto aiixed my signature, in presence-of two witnesses, this 16th day of February, 1897.

FRANCIS LANE MERRITT.'

Witnesses:

CHAs. S.Woo DRoFFE, RoBT. A. BLAKE. 

